Alabama

No bond for pair accused of heist

Police and prosecutors turned out in force Tuesday in a Mobile courtroom in hopes of assuring themselves and the public that the alleged criminal career of two brothers has come to an end.

"Robbery, robbery, robbery," was the mantra of an obviously angry and frustrated Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. as he urged a judge to set bail of $10 million each for Anthomas and Brandon Carr.

The brothers and a third man alleged to have been the getaway driver and scout for ripe robbery spots, Antonio Brown, 21, were in Presiding District Judge Charles McKnight's court Tuesday following a Sunday night holdup of the CVS Pharmacy at Florida and Dauphin streets.

McKnight ultimately denied bond for each of the defendants.

Brown's alleged role, Tyson told the judge, was to "go into the store and in effect case the joint on how to do the job."

All three were arrested within minutes of the 10 p.m. robbery, with money and a handgun strewn along the brothers' escape route, according to police.

What prompted at least nine Mobile police officers and brass to line up in a tight arc on one side of the McKnight's courtroom and Tyson's appearance was what Tyson characterized as the Carrs' "inability to restrain" themselves.

With about 10 arrests between them, nearly half on robbery charges, they had managed to walk free from jail on what Tyson described as high bail amounts in the hundreds of thousands and were out on bail during Sunday's robbery.

According to information given to Tyson, the brothers have access to bank accounts in Texas, Georgia and South Carolina. He said that this could explain their ability to have bailed themselves out. It also presents an obvious flight risk, he said.

In Tuesday's proceeding, Anthomas Carr, 26, scowled dismissively as the collection of cursory evidence was submitted against him. Brandon Carr, 22, was subdued.

But the older brother's jaw literally dropped when he heard Tyson ask for $10 million in bail. Later, when McKnight announced that he believed the Carr brothers presented a "danger to society" and he was denying any bail at all, Anthomas Carr again visibly reacted, ducking and shaking his head in apparent disbelief.

Brown, represented by attorney Robert "Cowboy Bob" Clark, followed the brothers' appearance in court. Though McKnight also set no bail for him, he indicated that without any discernibly serious arrest record, some kind of bail would likely be considered in future court appearances.

When Tyson's side finished offering its reasoning for high bonds, defense attorney Jeff Deen, representing both Carr brothers, called the large law enforcement turnout "great theater," but countered that there was "not one ounce of truth" to their case.

When he proceeded to question Mobile police Lt. Glenn Garside, Deen was told that the brothers were caught on a CVS surveillance tape and within minutes had been captured following a "foot race" as they cowered in a convenience store restroom and storeroom on Old Shell Road.

Brown, Garside said, was in the alleged getaway car as he tried to make his way out of the pharmacy's parking lot.

According to earlier news accounts, police were able to respond so quickly because a passerby saw the robbery in progress and alerted authorities.

Outside court, Tyson said he had asked for impossibly high bail because the brothers apparently "had no problem whatsoever" getting out of jail Brandon Carr once on a $250,000 bail.

According to online court records, both brothers were out on bail at the time of Sunday's robbery:

Brandon Carr on a first-degree robbery charge from last year was released by Circuit Judge John Lockett on $250,000 bail.

Anthomas Carr on a charge of illegal possession of a firearm was released by McKnight on $100,000 bail.

Brandon Carr is scheduled for trial on that robbery case in August, court records indicate.

The court records do not reflect a trial date having been set for Anthomas Carr on the illegal firearm charge. That arrest was Feb. 28.

"This community has had enough of robbery," Tyson said.

He said the public demands the right to grab a cup of coffee or participate in any other activity without fear of being threatened with guns and being robbed.